» Accreditation » National Accreditation » Standard 3
The Northwest School of Education engages multiple stakeholders in program planning and evaluation, improvement and data analysis, and innovation in a variety of ways, including membership on Professional Advisory Boards. The School of Education worked with district leaders to develop partnerships which support high-quality academic programs, including the Northwest Fellows Program, a graduate program in Curriculum and Instruction with the Independence School District. This program, co-designed with the district and Northwest Missouri State University, promotes robust, diverse clinical experiences for graduate students Click here to see the Memorandum of Understanding between Northwest and our district partners.
The Professional Education Unit (PEU) maintains an advisory board made up of area school administrators, business leaders, alumni, students and School of Education faculty and staff. The advisory board has been in place for well over a decade. Upon embarking on our course redesign, the School of Education solicited input from the advisory board as to what curriculum and classes we should consider. Then, after the redesign was in process, the School of Education solicited advice and suggestions from the advisory board as to how to refine our product. Currently, this advisory board meets twice a year, in both Maryville and at our satellite location at Northwest Kansas-City.
The PEU also engages multiple stakeholders through the Council on Teacher Education (COTE). COTE’s purpose is to advise and approve in the development of policies, courses and programs related to the teacher education program. It includes members from the School of Education and the university at large. It also includes three local practitioners selected from local schools (one elementary representative, one middle/secondary representative, and one administrator). Click here for minutes of the COTE meetings.
In addition, the PEU maintains partnerships with numerous local and regional school districts in order to provide clinical experiences and placements for School of Education students. As part of the Northwest School of Education’s course redesign, teacher candidates have been placed in all six school districts in Nodaway County (where the University is located), as well as the Savannah (Missouri) School District, and selected school districts in southwest Iowa. These placements begin as early as the second semester of the candidates’ freshman year. Getting teacher candidates out for clinical experiences early is a hallmark of the redesigned education program. Over 500 teacher candidates were placed for rich clinical experiences during the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters. The School of Education’s partnership with our P-12 district partners has been imperative for this innovative approach to succeed. In addition, the School of Education also maintains partnerships with St. Joseph (Missouri) School District, and the Kansas City School District in Missouri. Partnerships with these districts help introduce Northwest teacher-candidates, many of whom are from rural settings, into the world of urban education, debunking myths and revealing challenges in urban schools. Please also see our summary of key partnerships which expand diversity while promoting the diversification of the educator workforce in section 4.1, 4.2, and 4.5 , which reveal the depth and quality of our mutually co-beneficial partnerships and their impact on candidates and P-12 learners.
In 2019, the Professional Education Advisory Board (PAB) joined Northwest education faculty and administration in Maryville (Nov. 4th) and at Northwest-Kansas City (Nov. 11th). The advisory board gave great feedback and ideas for improving our program and shaping the educator preparation curriculum. Additionally, the PAB analyzed our most recent annual First-Year Teacher Survey Data and gave suggestions on what to do to improve, as well as what to contain based on their interpretation of the 2018-2019 FYTS data. Northwest faculty have submitted several accepted peer-reviewed national presentations and/or articles about our involvement with stakeholders, including advisory board members and school district partners. They have been instrumental in our improved curriculum and the diversification of our clinical experiences since 2015.
Conclusion
By engaging multiple stakeholders, the Northwest School of Education receives multiple perspectives to provide and capitalize on improvement opportunities and program development through innovative clinical partnerships, benefiting our candidates and completers and the P-12 learners they serve.
